Tafika is now 10!

At 10 years old, it is expected that Tafika should be moving into the release phase of his rehabilitation, but with nervousness having held him back, he remains with the younger orphans of the herd rather than joining release-phase orphans, Chamilandu and Batoka, on their excursions through Kafue National Park.

Tafika has joined them in the past, however, a traumatic incident occurred, which impacted his confidence. In 2016, Tafika witnessed a fellow orphan being killed by lions whilst they were away from the protection of the keepers and the boma.

Since Game Rangers International follows a ‘soft release’ programme, whereby the orphans decide for themselves when to leave the herd for more wild surroundings, Tafika was not forced to come back into the boma at lunchtimes and evenings. Although exploring the wild environment is essential for the orphans’ development, it also comes with risks, such as lions.

After witnessing such a distressing incident, Tafika decided to stay with the rest of the orphan herd under the watchful eyes of the keepers; he no longer wanted to venture off with Chamilandu and Batoka, resulting in his progress being affected.

He is now lagging almost three years behind is age-mates in terms of entering the release-phase of his rehabilitation, leading to a lot of frustrations as he wants to take that important next step, but he simply hasn’t had the confidence to do so.

However, an interesting turn of events occurred recently as four lions appeared at the boma fence. As the rest of the orphans ran away from the fence towards the safety of the stables, Tafika (accompanied by Mosi), surprisingly mock charged at the fence in an attempt to scare the lions away.

The keepers were impressed with Tafika as he demonstrated anti-predator behaviours, suggesting that he may be more prepared for life in the wild than even he thinks. But lions are still a huge risk to even an elephant of Tafika’s size – only a few hours earlier, an elephant had been killed by lions just 1km from the Release Facility, proving that even the oldest orphans are still at risk.

It is, however, a good sign that Tafika displayed anti-predator skills, suggesting that his confidence is increasing and that he may feel comfortable enough to start joining Chamilandu and Batoka on their wild adventures once again.

We look forward to sharing more stories about Tafika’s exploits with you in the year ahead! If you’re interested in learning more about this iconic species or the other animals that we work hard to protect please visit our website.

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